Drain under neighbours house is damaged.

littlerock

well first of all the water company have no idea where the drains actually run, no one does.The council says they do not know and have no records. All the drains run under the back gardens, which abut each other inside the block but whereabouts is anyone's guess.

The water company says it is only responsible from mains in road up to boundary of the front garden. After that it is down to owners and particularly so for the pipes which run under the private back gardens in the block, location unknown. When you phone the water company you get to speak to a pleasant but basically clueless young person who has no authority to refer you on. When the house drains get blocked as they do occasionally, you have to pay yourself to have them cleared.

It is interesting to note that all the drains run out to communal traps between pairs of houses. Each house is paired for drains, with the outer half one of the next pair to it. Each house's drains lead out to a shared trap in the back garden, located in space between the pair and sited a few feet from the house under the shared garden wall. Then the communal drain runs under the shared garden wall off into the distance under the back gardens. I assume they were built this way, In the 1880s, because the houses themselves have cellars.So they had to fit the drains between them.

As I said neighbour and I hired a camera mole and put it down our drain and operator was still unable to find where it led. Might try asking water company again see if the customer service staff training has improved. And follow up your section 24 suggestion with Council. Thanks.